Skipper Nicole Stewart controls the play for Werribee Centrals in the mid-court. Photo: Damjan Janevski
An air of invincibility surrounds Werribee Centrals ahead of a grand entrance into the GDFL A-grade netball finals this weekend.
The Centurions were undefeated during the regular season – 18 wins from 18 starts, one hell of a statistic to be reminding your opponent about on Saturday.
Throw in a 2013 premiership without a blemish and it adds weight to Centrals’ status as unbackable title favourites.
What do the 72 premiership points amassed in the home-and-away rounds mean?
There are the obvious benefits of a double chance and a rest in week one of the finals, but not much else.
There are no bonus points to take into the semi-finals but there is a bigger target on your back.
Put simply, a minor premiership is no guarantee of premiership glory.
The Centurions players need to look no further than their own friendship circles to realise that.
They hang out with some of the players involved in the City West Falcons’ heartbreaking failed premiership bid in the Victorian Netball League a few months ago.
The Falcons were undefeated in the regular season and won through to the grand final in a cakewalk.
The problem was, they lost when it mattered – in the season decider.
Should the Centurions win their semi-final against Bell Post Hill on Saturday, they will get a direct route to the grand final but would enter the big game having played just once in 28 days.
“It’s ours to lose essentially,” Centurions goal shooter Ellie Tubbs told Star Weekly.
“We know what the Falcons did and we have a few friends in that team and saw them hurting really bad.
“You’ve always got that in the back of your mind but you have to use that as fuel to play your best and your hardest.”
The key for the Centurions is inspirational captain Nicole Stewart, the heartbeat of the team in the centre position.
“She’s had an amazing season,” Tubbs said. “She’s the captain for a reason – because she’s leading both ends of the court with her talk and her hustle and her physicality.
“She’s definitely a force to be reckoned with and wants it more than anyone else on the team.”
